BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

bkoganbing I still remember as a kid seeing this shortlived, but highly acclaimed series that didn't find an audience.The premise was the two Canfield Brothers, living in a border state, having an opposite political view of the issues that were shortly to divide America. When their father, John McIntire, is killed. Darryl Hickman responds to Father Abraham's call for men while Richard Davalos opts for the newly formed Confederacy.It was like that in a whole lot of families back then. The famous Kentucky statesman John Crittenden saw two of his sons become generals in the opposing armies. Though Ben and Jeff Canfield never got to be higher than corporal in the series short run, the idea is the same. Each week the story alternated with a Union story involving Ben and a Confederate story involving Jeff. Kind of like the Maverick brothers.This was obviously planned for a long term run, though not as long as MASH which lasted three times as long as the actual Korean War itself. It also treated the issues and incidents of the time with seriousness.Those thirteen episodes dealt with some of the events and people of 1861. Dick Davalos got himself involved with the notorious Confederate spy, Rose Greenhow in an episode. Darryl Hickman did a stretch in Libby Prison when he was captured.Besides the pilot the episode I remember best was the last where Ben Canfield testifies at a Congressional hearing. The Radical Republicans had a committee that oversaw Lincoln's conduct of the war and his critics in Congress used it as a vehicle for their own ambitions. It concerned the Battle of Ball's Bluff where a personal friend of Lincoln's, Edward Baker was killed leading his men in a charge. Robert Middleton played Senator Ben Wade of Ohio who has not come down in history with a sterling reputation. In fact Wade almost became president when Andrew Johnson fell one vote shy of impeachment. But that's another story.Had this gone on for five years, The Americans would have been a remarkable educational tool and been frequently revived. Think of all the Civil War history that could have been made comprehensible and entertaining for the young. We had to wait 30 years for Ken Burns.As with so many flop series, good and bad, The Americans if the tapes of the shows still exist is gathering dust somewhere. Pity.

pgspat I was just ten when I watched this civil war series. I remember it as the first show to make me think about the world of adults and the serious topics like war and how families could be torn apart. Growing up in the South I also had a sympathetic view of the rebels, but I also really liked Ben Canfield (Darryl Hickman). The episode I remember the most is when he and Col. Fry are captured and sent to Libby prison and how the prisoners were mistreated.The great uniforms and interesting characters left a big impression on me and like others here I often dreamed about the characters and often some of my memories of this show are actually memories of the dreams I had about it.This would be a great find on DVD but doesn't seem to have the commercial interest to ever come out. Maybe some day the TV on demand of the future will include this classic from the past.

mattie5 I agree with the other respondents that this series, brief as it was, presented a moving and personal portrayal of the Civil War. I have wondered often why it has not been reshown on TV. The brother-against-brother theme was so poignant, and has continued to affect my views of any war.The two stars, Darryl Hickman and Dick Davalos, were perfect in their roles. I have always been impressed with the performances of Mr. Hickman, in particular, since his days as a child actor.

dean-37 I have remembered this TV series for nearly 40 years. It was a heart tugging series, about two brothers fighting the Civil War. One brother was in the Union Army and the other in the Confederate Army.You just knew one day they would meet face to face on the battlefield, and you just didn't want that to happen. You drew yourself to each of the brothers, in their individual stories of the war.Good history of times past, warm family feelings torn apart by war.There is room for a new TV series based upon this story line, today. I hope some producer picks it up and goes with it.